author

 
Menu
Search
 
July 11, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Arne Delfs
Two robots box while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visits Unitree Robotics in Zhejiang Province, China.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 20, 2026
Chaos unleashed by Trump has Europeans building bridges with China
As U.S. tariffs hit Europe, the idea of taking a hard line with China is becoming increasingly unpalatable for officials across the continent.
Rescue services search for victims under wreckage after an airstrike on a residential building in Kyiv on June 17, 2025. Vladimir Putin’s all-out invasion of Ukraine has devasted Ukrainian cities, claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and forced more than 10 million people to flee their homes.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 16, 2026
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed Europe forever. Here’s how.
The conflict is raising concerns over Europe’s ability to resist or coexist with an aggressive Russia under Vladimir Putin and its readiness state if he isn’t stopped in Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Wednesday. Macron is urging European countries to prioritize local resources in strategic sectors such as chemicals, chips and tech.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 12, 2026
Macron on collision course with Germany over ‘buy European’
The French president urged European countries to prioritize local resources but German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that such an approach could be too narrow.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends a news conference in Berlin on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 5, 2025
Merz under threat as business warns of Germany’s ‘free fall’
Failure to get a pension bill passed on Friday could spell the end of the German chancellor’s unwieldy ruling alliance with the Social Democrats.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's failure to deliver on a number of core issues has not only helped energize far-right parties like the Alternative for Germany, it’s also stoked speculation that Merz’s government may suffer the same fate as that of his predecessor.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 16, 2025
Germans are running short on patience with their stumbling chancellor
Only 16% of Germans want to see Merz, who has just turned 70, as a candidate in the next federal election, according to a recent poll by RTL/n-tv.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (left) and French President Emmanuel Macron. Germany and France are supporting a push to discuss China’s increasingly restrictive trade measures at a European Union leaders’ summit in Brussels on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 22, 2025
Germany and France back China trade discussion at EU summit
The bloc is scrambling to protect its industries from a glut of subsidized Chinese competition and Beijing’s recently announced export controls on rare earths.
German Chancellor and the leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union Friedrich Merz addresses the media in Duesseldorf, Germany, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 30, 2025
Merz’s ambitions for Germany’s role in EU put him at odds with von der Leyen
The German chancellor is trying to tug power back to Berlin, publicly rebuking the European Union’s top executive on issues like trade, the EU budget, green policy and defense.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul attends a news conference at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on Thursday.
WORLD
Aug 1, 2025
Germany opens the door to recognizing Palestinian statehood
As other European governments are hardening their position on Israel with respect to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, Germany is under growing pressure.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 6, 2025
Germany’s Merz lets Trump do the talking and survives Oval Office meeting
Merz heeded the advice from a number of European leaders that he should let Trump do most of the talking, and when he did talk, to praise the president.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivers a speech in Berlin on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 5, 2025
After courting and criticizing Trump from afar, Merz now set to meet U.S. leader
Past meetings between the two countries’ leaders have often been formalities to reinforce their unshakable postwar partnership. This time is different.
Palestinians move humanitarian aid collected from a distribution center in the Netzarim Corridor, central Gaza Strip, on May 29.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 4, 2025
Israel’s Gaza push spurs Europe leaders to turn on Netanyahu
The condemnation is symbolic of the shift in Europe and of Israel’s increasing isolation.
Olaf Scholz, Germany's chancellor, during the SPD party congress in Berlin on Saturday
WORLD / Politics
Jan 12, 2025
Scholz steps up criticism of Trump’s expansionist rhetoric
In power since 2021, Scholz’s SPD party has slumped as an early election looms for Europe’s largest economy on Feb. 23.
Billionaire Elon Musk speaks during an election rally for then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 9, 2025
Musk takes slash-and-burn style to Europe after bolstering Trump
The billionaire has honed in on Germany and the U.K., criticizing their governments, questioning their laws and casting doubt on their economic competence.
Alice Weidel, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany, speaks during a vote of confidence at the Bundestag in Berlin on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2024
Scholz’s far-right rival puts Germany’s EU exit on the ballot
Alternative for Germany co-leader Alice Weidel says the bloc’s “socialist policy making” has “destroyed the market mechanism in Europe.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) walks with French President Emmanuel Macron (center) and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump after a meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 10, 2024
Zelenskyy warns Trump and Macron about risk of frozen conflict
Ukraine can only enter into ceasefire talks with Russia from a position of strength, Ukrainian president says.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 24, 2024
Germany is courting India as ties with China sour: What to watch
The trip to India comes at a crucial time for Germany as it struggles to revive its economy, which has been buffeted by the war in Ukraine and competition from China.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a wreath-laying ceremony for the victims of a knife attack that killed three people last week, in Solingen, Germany, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 2, 2024
Germany’s Scholz alliance humbled as populists surge in regional votes
The regional election results highlight the risk Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his deeply unpopular government face ahead of the next national election.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 11, 2024
NATO allies gloomy on Biden’s prospects seek out Trump circle
Leaders at the alliances summit watched Biden’s every move for another gaffe that would further undermine his electoral hopes.
Alternative for Germany party co-leader Alice Weidel speaks at a party convention in Essen, Germany, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 1, 2024
German far-right leader sees Le Pen victory in France as a model
“I look at the result in France with admiration and respect,” said Alice Weidel, the co-leader of the AfD party.
Maximilian Krah from German's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party
WORLD / Politics
May 23, 2024
Europe’s far right in disarray two weeks ahead of elections
Far-right groups hoped to form a large enough bloc in next month’s European elections to weaken climate regulations and propose tougher immigration measures.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Trump says ‘Japan’ instead of Iran at meeting in Ankara
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference during a NATO leaders' summit in Ankara on Wednesday.
World’s first fully sealed vertical-farming facility opens in Tokyo
Fully sealed units are stacked on top of each other at Plantx's vertical-farming facility in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Wednesday.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Destination Restaurants 2026 award ceremony report
Destination Restaurants 2026 award ceremony report

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER